Habakkuk’s Disturbing Burden
Habakkuk 1:1-2:1
Introduction
The story is told of a man who was washed up on a small, uninhabited island after being the only survivor of a shipwreck. Every day the man prayed feverishly for God to help him. Every day he sat at the beach, scanning the horizon, waiting and wondering if he would be rescued. And every day, there was nary a ship in sight.
The man became quite skilled in the art of survival. In fact, he even managed to construct a shelter out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements and to keep his few possessions clean and dry.
One day, after returning from his lookout on the beach, the man discovered that his hut was in flames and smoke was billowing up to the sky. His shelter from the outside elements was completely destroyed along with all his possessions.
The man was devastated, stunned with grief and anger. He had been marooned for weeks on this island, alone and gradually losing hope. Now he had nothing left. “God, how long must I suffer on this island?” he cried. “Why did you let this happen? What am I supposed to do now?” These questions weighed on his mind like a heavy burden.
A dreadful thing had occurred. The man was worse off now than he was before. His circumstances just didn’t make any sense at all. In his despair, the man returned to his lookout on the beach and waited to see what would happen next.
The Burden Defined:
The prophet Habakkuk was burdened by these same questions. The book of Habakkuk was written during one of the darkest periods of Jewish history. The Northern tribes of Israel had already been defeated by the Assyrian army. You would think that the Southern tribes of Judah would be more concerned about following God’s Law after seeing the consequences of God’s judgment on Israel.
Not so. The situation in Judah was treacherous. From Habakkuk’s point of view, sin was abounding everywhere. Habakkuk had seen iniquity and wickedness. He had observed destruction and violence. He had seen strife and contention. He had seen the total corruption of his people as well as the consequences of that corruption.
The situation in Judah seemed just as bad as the deplorable conditions which existed on the earth prior to the Flood. Wickedness and violence seemed to go unchecked. The wicked outnumbered the righteous and forced their will on them. They attacked and punished the righteous.
The righteous were innocent of wrongdoing. There was no legal protection for innocent people who were sentenced as guilty. The courts were manipulated by selfish lawyers and cruel officials. In fact, the power of the government was used to victimize the innocent. Justice was perverted by bribes and prejudice.
The whole nation was suffering because of the evils of government. The righteous seemed to be locked up and the judicial tyrants had thrown away the key. Wickedness was the uncontested victor. The situation in Habakkuk’s day was indeed disturbing.
Habakkuk’s concern erupted into a series of complaints to God. It seemed as if the Lord would not even lift a finger to save the righteous from the oppression of violent men. And so, Habakkuk wanted to know why God wouldn’t listen. Habakkuk wanted to know why God wouldn’t help. And Habakkuk wanted to know why God even tolerated all this. “Why doesn’t God hear? Why doesn’t God do something? Does God even care?” Habakkuk wondered. God seemed so idle, so indifferent, so insensitive. It just didn’t make any sense at all.
Even today, it may seem that the sovereignty and grace of God is lost in the depths of human pessimism and despair. We look out on our world and see war and terrorism. Despot rulers hold nations hostage. Suicide bombers kill innocent people. Christians are martyred throughout African and Asian countries. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and other catastrophes kill vast multitudes of people.
We look at our own nation and see the wickedness that seems to run rampant. God’s standards are ignored or altogether eliminated. The law is not enforced. Judicial tyrants pervert justice. The righteous are oppressed. In fact, even in our own nation, several legal cases involve situations in which the rights of Christians are being compromised.
For example, a second-grade student in New Jersey was told that she could not sing “Awesome God” in an after-school talent show. An Arizona pastor was ordered to stop holding meetings or Bible studies in his private home. Five men were threatened with arrest for sharing their faith on a public sidewalk in Virginia. A nurse at a hospital in New York was forced to participate in a late-term abortion, even though her workplace had agreed in writing to honor her religious convictions. A university student in Missouri was threatened with having her degree withheld because she refused to write a letter to the state legislature expressing her support for homosexual adoption.
It seems as if government belongs to the rich who exploit the poor and middle class. In fact, we often hear about campaign finance reform, especially during major elections. I recently finished reading a novel by John Grishom entitled The Appeal. In this book, a judicial election was literally bought by the rich and powerful in order to get a lower court ruling overturned in which a major business organization was found liable for numerous deaths and illnesses caused by its toxic wastes. As I read this book, I could easily speculate that story could be real.
God’s people today may often be too tolerant of things which are explicitly contrary to God’s will. While seeking to restore the sinner, too often we condone the sin, or at least seek to reduce the severity of its negative consequences.
On the other hand, when we look at all the evil that exists in our nation and throughout the world, we may find it difficult to honestly worship, trust, and serve a God whose ways sometimes seem so contradictory. How can we continue to live by faith when it seems as if God doesn’t hear, when it seems as if God is doing nothing, and when it seems as if God doesn’t even care? These questions burden us just like they were a burden to Habakkuk.
The Burden Addressed:
God responded to Habakkuk’s complaint. God addressed Habakkuk’s burden. God was neither indifferent nor insensitive. God was not idle. God was already at work behind the scenes of history to straighten out the mess made by sinful men. God was already at work, making specific plans to discipline Judah. God revealed those plans to Habakkuk, but they were not what Habakkuk expected.
Habakkuk had complained about being made to look at the evil and injustice all around him. But God instructed Habakkuk to look elsewhere. “Look at the nations and watch,” God said. “Look away from your immediate circumstances and your current situation. Look instead to what I am going to do. You will be absolutely amazed at what I am going to do.”
Then God explained his plan in more detail. The political developments that God was going to reveal to Habakkuk would astound and bewilder him. “You’re never going to believe this, Habakkuk,” God conveyed to him. “I am raising up the Babylonians to punish the wickedness and injustice that you are complaining about.”
Habakkuk probably knew all about the Babylonians. Babylon was a nation known for its violent impulses. Its people readily committed atrocities without forethought or remorse. In verses six through eleven, God describes the Babylonians. They are ruthless. They are a fierce and dreadful people. They are a law to themselves. Their horses and cavalry are like vultures. They gobble up everything in their sight. Nothing can stop them. Their strength is their god.
The picture here is of an army which advances swiftly, even recklessly, in all directions. Throwing military caution to the wind, they spread out in all directions so quickly that those in their path would have no time to escape. Wherever they marched they imposed their will and demanded obedience to their laws. They derived standards from no one. They ascribed honor to no one, least of all to God. They were a monument to themselves.
And so, Judah’s sin would not go unchecked. Justice would prevail. Discipline was forthcoming and correction was on the way. The surprise was not the anticipated discipline but the dispenser of that discipline. It was not the coming correction that was unbelievable but the channel of that correction that seemed so incredible. God was going to use the godless Babylonians to put an end to Judah’s sin.
The Solution Questioned:
Habakkuk reacted to this revelation just like any other prophet of God would react. This announcement perplexed Habakkuk even more. His burden deepened to a profound dilemma. Habakkuk couldn’t believe that God would actually carry out this plan. And so, he continued his conversation with God. “Why would you use those wretched Babylonians to judge Judah?” he asked. Granted, sin had abounded all too long in Judah. But the sinners of Judah were but soiled saints next to the barbaric Babylonians. Habakkuk was appalled that God would employ so evil an instrument to punish Judah.
Habakkuk questions God’s plan from two perspectives. First, Habakkuk reminds God of his eternal covenantal character. God is an everlasting God. He is the Rock. He does not change. Stability and security are found in him. How could God, the everlasting Rock, break his covenant promise and allow his people to become extinct at the hand of the Babylonians? God’s people could not die.
Secondly, Habakkuk reminds God of his holiness. God is a righteous God. His eyes are too pure to look on evil. He cannot tolerate wrong. How can a pure and holy God act according to a plan like this? Can a holy God sit and watch his own people being caught like fish in a net? The Babylonians will boast of their own strength and give credit for their victory to their own worthless gods. God couldn’t allow that to happen.
In light of God’s eternal covenantal character and holiness, Habakkuk reminds the LORD that he had appointed the Babylonians to execute judgment and discipline, not total destruction on Judah. The Babylonians were God’s instrument to punish, not to demolish.
And yet, it just didn’t make any sense to Habakkuk that the everlasting preeminent Jehovah God, the absolutely Holy One, the permanent Rock, would utilize such a wicked people to administer discipline on Judah. That seemed like a perversion of justice. Even though Judah had been sinful, her wickedness was dwarfed by the atrocities committed by the Babylonians. We often speak of choosing the lesser of two evils, but God was going to use the greater of two evils to accomplish His purpose.
“It is true that we deserve to be punished,” Habakkuk confessed, “but the Babylonians are far more wicked than the people of Judah are. If anyone deserves punishment, it is the Babylonians. Besides, if the wicked Jews are punished by the Babylonians, the righteous remnant will suffer along with the wicked.”
Habakkuk couldn’t understand God’s plan, but he knew that the unchanging and everlasting Lord would not break his covenant with his people. Habakkuk also knew that the holy and righteous God would not allow sin to go unpunished.
The Answer Awaited:
Habakkuk ended his speech. “OK, I’ve said my piece,” concluded Habakkuk. “Now let’s see what will happen. Let’s see how God will respond.” Habakkuk is much like an attorney who concludes his arguments with “I rest my case,” and who now waits in anxious expectation while the jury deliberates the case.
Habakkuk has stated his complaint and now he positions himself so that he might obtain the earliest and clearest response. Rather than fearing God’s anger toward an impudent doubter, Habakkuk waits patiently for a response which he knows will come. Habakkuk waits, and God answers.
God had told Habakkuk to watch and be utterly amazed at what he was going to do. God would now reveal the rest of the story. After God had served his own purposes by the prevailing power of the Babylonians, after he had tried the faith and patience of his people, after he had distinguished between the hypocrites and those who sincerely feared God, then he would deal with the Babylonians.
“Pride goes before destruction,” it says in Proverbs, “a haughty spirit before a fall.” And so, God would destroy the Babylonian nation. They would be humbled. They would be brought down for their limitless and unquenchable thirst for dominion and wealth.
God indeed is neither indifferent nor insensitive. God is not idle. He is continually at work. He is holy and faithful. He is sovereign and he will bring glory to his name. And he will accomplish his purpose in his own way and in his own time. He is working out his work, even today.
God’s eternal covenantal character and holiness are not diminished by his working his will through good and evil alike. It may appear to us that God is not doing anything about evil. We may find ourselves feeling totally helpless in a hopeless situation. We may find ourselves wrestling with the problems of life and seeking to solve them.
Even those with a quiet confidence in God often recognize that spiritual meaning has to be sought in times of deepest distress. Yet too often we complain that the realities of this present life seem inconsistent with the remembrances of God’s mighty deeds in the past. We doubt, complain, run ahead of God, and even criticize what God is doing.
We must believe that God, in his own way and time, is doing something about evil. Even in our heaviest burdens, we must persist in hope and faithful obedience. God is holy, even when wickedness is all around us. God is righteous, even when he disciplines us. God is loving, even when we experience pain.
Remember the man who was shipwrecked and stranded on a remote island? His hut had burned down and all his possessions were destroyed. We left him sitting on the beach waiting to see what would happen. The next day, as the man gazed out over the vast, empty ocean, he saw a small speck on the horizon. Much to his utter surprise, the speck continued to grow. Soon, he saw that a ship was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” the weary man asked his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal” they replied. How ironic! The man’s catastrophe had saved him.
And so it is with us. Sometimes God works in ways that astound us. Sometimes God works in ways that we do not understand. God used unemployment and a shoulder injury to lead me to a career in ministry. And he used a work comp settlement to help me pay for my first year of seminary.
God may use roadblocks or obstacles in order to guide us to the college he wants us to attend, to the job he wants us to perform, or to the place he wants us to live. God may use failure in our ministry to steer us toward the direction he wants us to go or to cause us to depend more on him. God may use adversity in order that we may trust him more and rely on him to meet our needs.
God’s eternal covenantal character and holiness are not diminished by his working his will through good and evil alike. During the last three hours of Jesus’ life on earth, darkness came over the whole land. The sun stopped shining. God mercifully drew a blind over the agony and horror of those last three hours of Jesus’ life.
God could not bear to see our sin. So God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. And God in his holiness could not bear to look upon the sin that Jesus bore for us either. Jesus was utterly alone, cut off from his Father. But God was working out his work. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He does not change.
Because God could not bear to look at our sin but cast it upon his one and only Son, we are redeemed from all the peril that sin may cause. God, in his grace and mercy, works all things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Jesus Christ is now exalted at God’s right hand. He is the Lord of history. Jesus Christ is the God of every circumstance. Through Jesus Christ, nothing can happen that does not flow in the channel that God has dug for it. No event can ever occur outside of God’s plan. No circumstance can ever leave God astonished, bewildered, or confused.
Our world belongs to God. Our ruler is Jesus Christ. The sins of mankind have reduced the world to an arena of passion and fury. And yet, in the midst of everything that happens, Jesus Christ is Lord. And when we believe in him, we will know the power of his resurrection and be assured that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Conclusion:
Everything follows God’s plan and his timetable. And it is all bound up with his great and glorious, eternal and kingdom purposes. And so, our task is to get on board with whatever God is doing. Our task is to stand on the watchtower, see the vision of what God is doing, and then live by faith that he will accomplish it. Our task is to be what God has called us to be and trust that God will work around us, and through us, and in us, and sometimes even in spite of us.
And we will find out, to our great joy, that even though we might think that God has abandoned his world, he is still at work. Even though we might think that the ministries of our church depend so much on our own energies, God is using us flawed and unworthy people. And even in our own busy, physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and spiritually dried up lives – even there, God is always at work!
